Kurdish political parties in Turkey ready for Newroz celebrations despite pandemic

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Several Kurdish political parties in Turkey convened on Friday and spoke of their plans for this year’s Newroz celebrations, saying coronavirus will not dampen the festivities. 

Seven Kurdish parties in Turkey – known collectively as the Kurdistani Coalition -  have been making preparations for this year’s Newroz celebrations to mark Kurdish New Year, which is celebrated on March 21. They revealed their plan during a press conference on Friday. 

“This Newroz will be the beginning of the freedom of Kurdish people. It will also bring the unity of Kurds,” Democratic Regions Party (BDP) co-chair Keskin Bayindir told reporters, calling on Kurds to wear traditional clothing. 

“We have completed our preparations,” added Bayindir, saying celebrations will be held across Kurdish cities in Turkey, especially Diyarbakir, known in Kurdish as Amed. 

In Kurdish mythology, 2,721 years ago a blacksmith called Kawa overthrew an oppressive king named Zuhak and lit a fire on a hilltop as a symbol of victory. To this day, Kurds continue to light bonfires on hilltops to mark the New Year.

The coalition, an umbrella group of political parties, was formed in 2019 and ran under the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) list in that year’s provincial elections.

Tayyip Temel, a HDP lawmaker and one of the organizers of the Newroz celebration, told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana on Friday that the low number of coronavirus cases in Turkey’s Kurdish areas has allowed for celebrations to take place, adding that preventative measures will still be taken.

He said that they have sent invitations to all political parties in the Kurdistan Region to attend the event. 

Last year saw limited Newroz celebrations across the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish areas in Turkey, Syria and Iran due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

It is unclear if Turkish authorities will allow the celebrations to take place exactly as planned.